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Two men arrested allegedly involved in sex for drugs & money scheme

fili@samoanews.com

Two men charged with drug possession were arrested over the weekend at a vacant house which was unlawfully occupied by the owner’s male relative, who allegedly told young teenage girls they had to have sex in exchange for drugs and money, according to court documents.

Defendants Wayne Gasolo and Ioane Sakopo, aka Inky, made their initial appearance Tuesday in District Court with bail set at $10,000 each. It’s unclear at press time if either of the defendants were able to post bail.

The pair is each charged with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance — methamphetamine, a felony crime punishable by a mandatory term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than 10 years, a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $20,000 or both.

Sakopo is facing an additional misdemeanor charge of possessing an unlicensed firearm, a crime punishable by 1 year in jail, $1,000 fine or both.

According to court documents, a woman contacted police Sept. 17th about her house, which has no electricity or running water and yet she is told that a male relative had been staying at her house without her permission.

(Court documents identifies the male relative by name, but since the individual appears to have not been found or charged yet, the identify is not being published by Samoa News at this time. For the purposes of this story, Samoa News is using the words “male relative”)

Additionally, the homeowner had received complaints of loud music and of young girls hanging out at the house with frequent vehicles coming to the house late at night.

When police arrived at the said house, they saw lights on in the house and music playing. Police officers could also hear voices of people from inside the house. Further, there was a generator running for electricity — police the called for back up.

When the back-up unit arrived, a white pick up truck was parked in front of the house and tried to leave, but was blocked in by the back-up unit. One of the police officers approached the pick up truck and observed Sakopo allegedly making movements inside the truck indicating that Sakopo was trying to hide something in the back of the passenger side of the truck.

As the officer made contact with Sakopo, the officer immediately saw a handgun on the dashboard in front of the steering wheel, court documents allege, and said Sakopo was immediately removed from the vehicle, which was then searched for any other firearms.

Court documents say a .22 caliber pistol handgun, which was fully loaded with ammunition, was confiscated.

During the search of the vehicle, the government alleges a “glass pipe containing a significant amount of brownish melted, crystalline substance” was found in a PVC pipe mounted on the speaker in the space cab of the truck.

The glass pipe is generally used to smoke methamphetamine and the crystalline substance was later identified as meth.

With back-up unit on the scene police entered the house and inside one of the bedrooms, they found 2 plastic baggies with crystalline residue as well as 2 glass pipes with crystalline residue, the government alleges.

Inside another bedroom, police found Gasolo, who was immediately subdued and police discovered on him a glass pipe with crystalline substance inside. Police also found a black sunglass case with two cut-up straws inside; one of the straws still had a crystalline substance inside. Crystalline substance in both straws tested positive of meth, the government alleges.

Also found in the house, according to the government, were three females. And the defendants along with the females were taken in for questioning. Both Sakopo and Gasolo waived their constitutional rights and gave police a statement.

Sakopo allegedly told police that he was there at the house to visit is 17-year old girlfriend, who was one of the females found in the house. He allegedly admitted to having sex with the girlfriend.

He denied to police owning the glass pipe with meth that was found in his pick up truck. As for the handgun, he allegedly told police it belongs to his friend, and it was borrowed to shoot pigs.

When interviewed by police, Gasolo said he was invited to the house by his friend, the “male relative” of the owner of the house. He allegedly told police that the meth found on him belong to him but he got it from his friend, the “male relative” of the owner of the house.

Police interview the 17-year old girl who said she was invited to the house by her cousin, the “male relative” to stay at the house. She allegedly told police that the “male relative” told “her and some of the other girls in the house that in order to eat and smoke methamphetamine, they had to do ‘work’.”

According to the 17-year old, “work meant they had to have sexual intercourse with certain individuals in exchange for more drugs and money,” the government alleges.

The girl also allegedly admitted to having had “sexual intercourse with certain individuals”, at the male relative’s direction, “in exchange for drugs and money.

Police also interviewed another female in the house, an 18-year old, and she said that she had known the male relative since 2015 when she was 17 years old and she was invited by the male relative to the house.

She allegedly told police that she and the male relative have had sexual intercourse numerous times and that she and the male relative have smoked meth together numerous times. She further alleged that the male relative would have her sexual intercourse with certain people in exchange for meth.

The ages of the two defendants are not mentioned in the court documents.

Samoa News should point out that the initial appearance of the defendants came on the same day the Police Commission told directors in a cabinet meeting of the drug problems in the territory. (See separate story in today’s issue.)